Built in 1905 as the Jefferson County Armory, the 6,000-seat Louisville Gardens downtown — a place where Elvis and Frank Sinatra performed, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke and countless graduations, basketball and ice hockey games were held — has been vacant for several years.

One of the last events held there was the Louisville Invitational Tournament for boys' basketball in January 2009. University of Louisville, University of Kentucky and professional teams also played there over the years.

ITS ORIGINS

Designed in the Beaux Arts-style by Louisville's Brinton B. Davis and built at 525 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd., between Sixth Street and Armory Place, at a cost of $440,000, it was home to the Louisville Legion militia battalion. When it opened, it was the largest building in Kentucky.

ITS FUTURE

The Cordish Co. of Baltimore, operator of 4th Street Live, had rights to redevelop it but backed out in 2012, after nearly five years. The city owns it and is talking to a couple of groups interested in resuming its past uses or converting it to housing, city spokeswoman Rebecca Fleischaker said. She said it needs a new roof and is unsafe for uses other than storage.

HISTORICAL MOMENTS

It was used as a refugee area during the Great Flood of 1937 and as an assistance center for evacuees from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A memorial service in the wake of the Titanic disaster was held there in 1912. Eastman Kodak and other corporations held national conventions there over the years.

FAMOUS PERFORMERS AND SPEAKERS

A Tommy Dorsey Orchestra performance was broadcast nationally in 1936. Other performers who appeared there include Igor Stravinsky, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Aaron Copland and Pearl Jam. Harry S. Truman spoke there during his 1948 presidential campaign.

U of L MEN'S BASKETBALL

The Cardinals called it home starting in 1945, before moving to Freedom Hall after it opened in 1956. They continued playing some games there through 1972, and they won 87 percent of their games in the building, 153 wins and 23 losses.

OTHER TEAMS AND OTHER SPORTS

Hockey: An ice rink was installed in 1948 and it became home to the Blades hockey team, which won the International Hockey League championship but folded a year later. The team was resurrected as the Stars for about half the 1954 season and returned in 1957 as the Rebels, which also gave up in 1961.

Basketball: Kentucky Colonels, Louisville Catbirds, Kentucky Stallions and Louisville Shooters, all professional teams, played home games there.

Other: Wrestling matches and miniature car and roller derby races also were held there.

NAME CHANGES

Jefferson County spent $2 million in 1963 on a conversion project, and renamed the building Louisville Convention Center. Its name was changed again to Louisville Gardens in 1975, to avoid confusion with the Commonwealth Convention Center being built a few blocks away. In 1998, it became The Gardens of Louisville.

Sources include: "Views Two: Louisville Since the Twenties," by Samuel W. Thomas; The Encyclopedia of Louisville; The Courier-Journal.

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